Chapter 54: Victory in Sight

"So nervous, are we charging!"

"I'm ready; wealth and honor are within reach. It all depends on this charge to open my Star Vein."

"Brother Di Zhao, bless me. These 105 points of Sacrificial Power bought for this Spirit Bomb represent my entire fortune. I hope it can blast one Black Armored Soldier to death."

"Brother in front, stop shaking. This is a game; you can resurrect if you die. Why so nervous?"

After two days of preparation, the player teams gathered once again at the entrance to the great hall on the fifth underground layer of the Dark Cave.

The commander for this campaign, chosen by forum vote, was "Wo Si Ni Die," the guild master of the Fanzuigong Society, whose sole responsibility was to issue the charge order.

As time passed, more and more players arrived, forming a long queue at the entrance.

Throughout this period, the voice channel for the Dark Cave region was incredibly lively; regarding the upcoming suicide charge, the players felt both nervous and thrilled, with a hint of anticipation in their hearts.

"Brothers, detonate!"

Following the call of the player "Wo Si Ni Die," the prepared players hugged their Spirit Bombs and rushed toward the great hall.

The silent Black Armored Soldiers also awakened at this moment, bloodlight rippling in their hollow eyes as they turned, weapons in hand, toward the direction where the players appeared.

Under the control of the Corrosion Core, the Black Armored Soldiers launched an offensive against the player army.

Boom!

With the first explosion, sounds of detonations rang out continuously inside the great hall like firecrackers, creating a spectacular scene.

Players constantly dissolved into black mist during the fray, subsequently entering the forum's live broadcast rooms to watch from the sidelines.

As the commander, "Wo Si Ni Die" saw the viewer count in his live stream grow continuously, while the comment section became extremely lively:

"Hahaha, I heard the notification before I died: I blew up one Black Armored Soldier, leveled up three times, and received 229 points of Sacrificial Power as a reward. Totally worth it."

"Since we're all dying anyway, dying by explosion feels so cool. The three Black Armored Soldiers surrounding me were all blown away by me. Pity I couldn't kill them; I wonder which lucky brother finished them off."

"This is ridiculous. I was just about to detonate my Spirit Bomb when a brother sticking close to me from next door blew me up. Where do I even appeal for justice?"

"So painful. My experience was exactly the same as the brother above. I wasn't killed by a Black Armored Soldier but by my own teammate. Some players need to open their eyes and not stand so close. This wave was a massive loss."

"Adding a chicken leg to tonight's dinner. I blew up two Black Armored Soldiers at once. Finally, I can open my second Star Vein. Bone Fire, here I come (Attached: Screenshot of kill notification)."

The atmosphere both inside and outside the battlefield was incredibly joyful.

Having been wiped out twice in a row and feeling powerless against the Black Armored Soldiers, the players had been holding back a pent-up frustration.

Although this battle might not clear all the Black Armored Soldiers, the kill notifications constantly refreshing in the regional channel made them feel immensely satisfied.

The battle concluded after one hour.

Under the players' frantic bombardment, rubble flew everywhere near the underground great hall, pockmarked with craters and littered with the severed limbs of Black Armored Soldiers.

Although victory had not yet been won, the players could already see the dawn of triumph.

After the battle ended, they immediately organized a second wave of suicide attacks on the forum.

The Doomsday Technology Guild, responsible for supplying the Spirit Bombs, also started working overtime to manufacture more, preparing for the next charge.

Although the process was arduous, the members of the Doomsday Technology Guild found joy in it.

The post released by Qin Ye had brought them a large number of weapon orders; although the profit margin was only 5%, it was still a considerable income.

Most importantly, the reputation of the Doomsday Technology Guild had been established; applications to join the guild were increasing continuously, which Guild Master Yang Tianxuan viewed as a good beginning.

The various calamity-level weapons envisioned in their plans required massive investment of resources, and these players coming to pledge allegiance could provide the financial boost needed for the success of this project.

The feeling of being needed also gave this group of researchers, who had long worked in closed environments, a strong sense of belonging.

Two days later.

Players entered the Dark Cave one after another, gathering at the entrance to the underground great hall according to the consensus reached on the forum.

For this battle, the players were fully prepared to welcome victory.

The offensive was launched in two waves.

The first wave consisted of players carrying Spirit Bombs, responsible for launching a suicide charge from the front.

They were composed of players possessing powerful mental monster forms such as the Eagle-Headed Demon and Bone Fire, as the Spirit Bombs required them to extend their consciousness to detonate.

The second wave of players was responsible for charging after the entire first wave had perished; they were composed of players with monster forms like the Black Armored Snake and Gargoyle.

The battle commenced once the personnel had mostly assembled.

Accompanied by the shout of the player "Wo Si Ni Die," the ready first wave hugged their Spirit Bombs and initiated the charge.

Learning from the previous lesson, upon entering the underground hall this time, the players scattered immediately, spacing themselves apart to prevent being caught in the blast radius of Spirit Bombs detonated by other players.

The Black Armored Soldiers also awakened at this moment, launching an offensive against the player legion.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

As the explosions rang out, the earth shook, rubble continuously fell from the dome, and the scene was utterly chaotic.

Players died continuously during the fray, while Black Armored Soldiers were blown away by the blasts; their bodies, before even hitting the ground, were blasted away again by other players' explosions, flying left and right like kites with cut strings, finally disintegrating and scattering in mid-air.

When the first wave of the offensive ended, fewer than a hundred Black Armored Soldiers remained on the scene.

"Kill!"

Following the call in the regional voice channel, the second wave of players, poised and ready, poured in one after another, launching a fearless charge against the remaining Black Armored Soldiers.

Although most of the remaining hundred-plus Black Armored Soldiers were critically injured, their lethality remained terrifying; a casual swing of their weapons could easily split a player in two.

However, the players held the advantage in overwhelming numbers.

With a continuous influx of combat power sustaining the assault, the Black Armored Soldiers were finally all killed, bringing the battle to a close.

"Oh my god, we finally won. To capture the Dark Cave, I must have died over twenty times; the accumulated death cooldown time is nearly a full day."

"Hahaha, so happy. We finally took it. Next, we just need to shatter the crystal, and we can claim the mission rewards."

"So excited. I'm ranked 309 on the contribution list; I'm not sure what reward I'll get. Hopefully, it can increase my Body Tempering level by one rank."

Inside the regional voice channel, all players were cheering and jumping with joy.

Outside the battlefield, players who had entered death cooldown and were following the situation via live streams also sent bullet comments one after another, celebrating together this hard-won victory.

Moving forward hand in hand, challenging difficulties together, and achieving success felt like a spiritual feast, granting the participating players a full sense of accomplishment.

The remaining players then moved toward the underground palace.

Next, they only needed to shatter the Corrosion Core, and their first collective mission in this game would come to a perfect curtain call.

Just as a certain player in the live stream had said:

"The engineering project lasting half a month has ended; it's time to collect our wages."

(End of Chapter)